Black Rock: The story of an island, an exile and an emperor

Should ambition cease with death? Napoleon Bonaparte doesn’t think so. His ghost is actually hungrier than ever. The ex-emperor has no intention of allowing his premature end to thwart his destiny or threaten his legacy. But death holds unexpected surprises for the restless spirit of the nineteenth-century’s most infamous tactician. Set in 1821 on the remote Atlantic island of St Helena during the week between Napoleon’s death and burial, this historical who-done-it examines what powerful men do in narrowed circumstances and what ordinary people do when their lives collide with the exceptional. Louise Hoole, who lived on St Helena as a child, draws upon the letters and memoirs of those exiled on the island to bring to life the complex machinations of those who made up Napoleon’s last court.

200 Year Anniversaries: April 1814: The deposed Emperor is exiled to Elba. Feb. 1815: Napoleon escapes Elba, marches on Paris. March - July 1815: Napoleon rules for 100 Days. June 1815: Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo. July 1815: Napoleon is exiled to St Helena. 9 August 1815: Napoleon sets sail for St Helena in British custody. 15 October 1815: Napoleon arrives on St Helena. 5 May 1821:Napoleon dies aged 52 on the island.

Reviews and Notes from Readers:

Eloquent, beautifully written, grave and funny: all at once. Napoleon haunts the island, and the island haunts everyone else, including the novel’s author… Black Rock reads as many things, and one of them is as a love letter to St Helena.– Fiona Shaw, author of Tell it to the Bees & A Stone’s Throw.